[mattyb]

OK, since shif thinks that there are too many sex orientated threads, what gets your goat about Apple? Its products, treatment of music, politics, no more FW on MacBooks etc etc. Let rip.

Me, I am really annoyed that on a French Apple keyboard, there is no pipe symbol. Makes life hell using the terminal and having virtual machines running Linux. AND on a British keyboard, the pipe and backslash symbols are miles away from where they are on 99.9% of keyboards. Yeah I could get another keyboard, but then I'd have to fool around with hooking up the French keyboard for the misses.

I'd also like to maximize a window without using the mouse.

I'd like my iPod Touch to be seen EVERYTIME in iTunes.

EDIT : forgot, the fact that the 17" MacBook Pro doesn't have a full sized keyboard - one with a number pad.

[sek929]

Apple needs a midrange tower.

That's my only gripe, and has been since they axed the PowerMac/Mac Pro that was less that 2 grand.

[Stogieman]

They need to start adding more important features to the iPhone like Copy & Paste, landscape keyboard for ALL apps and push services for applications (wasn't that suppose to be out in late September?).

[shifuimam]

Dropping FW from the MB was stupid. Hell, dropping FW data transfer support from the fifth generation iPods was pretty dumb, if you ask me.

Apple users are notorious for holding on to old hardware and continuing to use it for years after obsolescence has settled in. Apple resisted the USB 2.0 revolution for a long time and tried to get their die-hard users to rely on FW400 for fast data transfer and high-bandwidth peripherals. Consequently, a lot of Mac users have almost exclusively FireWire peripherals - hard drives, burners, webcams, etc. Now they've just about eradicated FireWire...it's just unfortunate and entirely unnecessary. I doubt that it would have been expensive or technologically prohibitive to add a FW port to the new MacBook.

I hate the iTunes/iPod/FairPlay monopoly because it's just as "antitrust" as anything Microsoft has done, except that Apple gets away with it because of their minimal OS market share.

And I hate the Finder. I rely on a tree view of my directory and file structure for day-to-day operations; its absence is painfully noticed when I use OS X. I think that about covers the stuff I dislike about Apple that other Mac users (sometimes) dislike as well.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

Now they've just about eradicated FireWire...

By removing it from one of their of their five models they've just about eradicated it?

[shifuimam]

I think that the removal from the MacBook and the 5G iPods dropping support for it are a pretty clear sign that Apple is phasing it out, yes.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

I doubt that it would have been expensive or technologically prohibitive to add a FW port to the new MacBook

Technologically prohibitive? Without losing something else, there's no place for it to go. These are extremely space-efficient machines.

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

And I hate the Finder. I rely on a tree view of my directory and file structure for day-to-day operations; its absence is painfully noticed when I use OS X.

Originally Posted by Laminar 

By removing it from one of their of their five models they've just about eradicated it?

By removing it from what's probably their single best-selling model and making everyone else hesitant to use it anymore because of the implication that it might be gone from the rest of the line next, yeah.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Stogieman 

They need to start adding more important features to the iPhone like Copy & Paste, landscape keyboard for ALL apps and push services for applications (wasn't that suppose to be out in late September?).

Am I the only one who find the landscape keyboard more awkward to use?

Copy and Paste is all well and fine to wish for, but it's not a trivial addition to add to the UI.

Push services ought to be here though as it has been promised for so long. It would really eliminate most of my iPhone gripes.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

Am I the only one who find the landscape keyboard more awkward to use?

Must be. My giant thumbs have a lot of trouble on the portrait keyboard.

[lpkmckenna]

my most hated Apple annoyance was fixed in Leopard: all windows are now a nice grey instead of blistering white and ugly metal.

Now my biggest complaint is the lack of personalization options. look how limited the options for corner gestures and mouse buttons are. Lame

[lpkmckenna]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

i'd also like to maximize a window without using a mouse.

this.

[ort888]

Every computer Apple makes costs about 50% more then it should.

[KeyLimePi]

Define "should."

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by CharlesS 

I know about that. It's not the same as a separate column of my directory tree.

I just prefer that view for managing my files. It can be quite a bit easier to work with when you have a lot of drives, network shares, subdirectories, etc.

[BoingoBongo]

I hate the way they seem to be placing a much higher emphasis on form over function lately. They've always managed to keep a delicate balance between the two, but lately things have been going downhill.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

I know about that. It's not the same as a separate column of my directory tree.

A separate column? Separate from what?

[shifuimam]

Windows Explorer, Nautilus, etc. That kind of layout.

Disk and directory tree pane on the left; folder contents pane on the right.

I'm not saying the Finder doesn't work for a lot of people - I'm sure it does. It just doesn't work for me. It's not really a right or wrong thing. I just prefer the Windows Explorer layout. I know there are some third-party apps out there that work better; I haven't had a chance to check them out yet, although I intend to.

[besson3c]

There are lots of things, but conveniently something just came up.... Software Update.... Why the hell do I have to restart the whole computer to update Safari? If you're no stranger here you've heard my rant before, but for the others, why can't Apple just restart services as needed rather than forcing the whole OS to reboot? In the case of Safari/Webkit, Webkit will either be reloaded the next time it is accessed, or if it is preloaded into memory, the next time it is purged and refreshed. I don't see the harm in the hot swap of Webkit files, and the reboot is very annoying - it feels very Windows 95ish.

[- - e r i k - -]

A lot of apps / services rely on WebKit. Apple likes to play it safe, and I don't blame them. A restart isn't THAT annoying unless you like to masturbate over your "uptime".

[SSharon]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

Am I the only one who find the landscape keyboard more awkward to use?

No you are not alone. I never use the landscape keyboard and wouldn't use it even if it was available in more apps.

I wish my MDD could go to sleep . . . and actually wake up again.

- - e r i k - -: how is it possible to not get off over nearly 800 days of uptime on a daily use computer (that isn't a server)?

[besson3c]

I know a lot of apps rely on Webkit, but it is just a rendering engine, not a daemon or some intricate service with dependencies (at least, none that I can fathom). Like I said, it is either loaded into memory or loaded on demand, there are ways around restarting your entire OS.

It's not about masterbating to uptime, I have better things to masterbate to, it's about having to save my documents, close my gazillion terminal windows, and plan for the reboot. Either that, or I just postpone the update, and this is exactly what I end up doing. I don't know when iTunes 8.0.2 and Safari 3.2.1 came out, but I'm guessing at least a week ago. What if these updates were crucial and contained vital security fixes? Herein lies the problem, it has nothing to do with uptime.

Mind you, this is far from the only problem with the whole Software Update mechanism. The whole "here's a bunch of fixes bundled into one, good luck, oh.. and there is no rollback, and we are only now supporting running OS X Server as a VM guest in certain VM hosts for your testing" is lame. Brain dead nagging you to update iTunes on OS X Server is lame too (while there are ways to make this less of a hassle, it just isn't very thoughtful), assuming it still does this.

Most of my other gripes with Apple have to do with complete marketing fluff that is divorced from reality, stuff that's already been mentioned here, their lack fo commitment to making OS X Server a much better product so that I have to deal with Windows a little less, OS X's poor performance as a whole, OS X Mail's lack of flexibility, features, and performance with large mailboxes (which I'm sure we've talked about), their half-asses commitment to Calendar Server, and overall their difficulties with playing with non-homegrown software - numerous examples here.

[- - e r i k - -]

You should save your documents regularly anyway

You make "planning for a reboot" sound like the worst chore in the world. Either update when it's convenient, or don't. It's really that simple. No update is so critical that it will make your computer implode if you don't install it for a couple of hours, or even weeks. If it were, I'm sure you'd weigh up the inconvenience of having to save your documents (God forbid!) and interrupt your work against it.

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

You should save your documents regularly anyway

You make "planning for a reboot" sound like the worst chore in the world. Either update when it's convenient, or don't. It's really that simple. No update is so critical that it will make your computer implode if you don't install it for a couple of hours, or even weeks. If it were, I'm sure you'd weigh up the inconvenience of having to save your documents (God forbid!) and interrupt your work against it.

But that defeats the whole purpose of Software Update. What if you are responsible for maintaining a bunch of Macs and you work with extremely sensitive information (I don't, our sensitive information resides on non-Mac servers, but just speaking hypothetically here)? As a server admin you'd want to get the workstations checking for updates every day, or if OS X Server has a system (as I believe it does) that allows the admin to audit the updates and run a Software Update server you'd likewise want to get everybody running the same versions of stuff, and every machine with all of the latest security related updates installed. If there are users like myself (and I guarantee there are) who don't like to restart their machines, they will put this off, and put it off some more...

But there is two separate arguments here. You can argue that restarting your computer is no big inconvenience, and I might argue against that, but more importantly, it simply isn't necessary. I don't have to restart my computer on any other non-Windows OS unless I update the kernel. There are ways to restart services and kill/restart processes as necessary under a Unix system. Why Apple has decided to be such weenies about this I don't know.

Did you *ever* have a problem with Tiger and installing an update without quitting all of your apps? Why Leopard wants to now do this for some updates is even more perplexing. If there is a possibility that a reboot will be necessary, if Apple wants to play it safe why don't they just throw up a dialog *suggesting* a reboot? This way they'd cover their ass, be super safe, save kittens from dying, and people could just install updates brainlessly the moment they come in.

[besson3c]

Also, if Apple really wanted to play it safe like you are suggesting, why have they not bothered to provide a way to roll back updates? Why is every upgrade a one-way ticket? If you are an IT guy on a tight budget, you even have to buy a dedicated Mac for testing these updates, no VM love, like I said...

[besson3c]

Well, I guess you could roll back with Time Machine now, but VM snapshots in a disposable test environment would be a lot nicer

Also, what if you install an update, do a bunch of work, and then notice that the update causes problems? By rolling back via TM you'd lose all your work unless you starting plucking individual files through the timeline...

[Big Mac]

1. No midrange tower
2. No Firewire in the MacBook
3. No matte option in the laptop lines
4. Too little "fit-and-finish" software QC - there are minor bugs in Apple apps that have existed since their initial releases that have never been fixed.
5. Still no clean separation of the spatial Finder (and it would be super easy to achieve this, at least from a design standpoint!)
6. MobileMe is lamer than .Mac was in many respects.
7. No iPlatform copy and paste
8. Too little transparency about future releases (although this issue is better than it once was)

[brassplayersrock²]

no N in the minis yet (which is what's keeping me from buying one.)

[Buckaroo]

As far as no firewire in the MB, I understand the reason it was left out was because there wasn't enough room. The HD/Battery compartment is in the way.

[Buckaroo]

I do have a complaint. It sucks that I have to log off and back in whenever I change the video settings on my MBP (Late 2008).

[mattyb]

Um, what do you guys mean by a landscape keyboard? A full sized one with the number pad?

[Sayf-Allah]

1. Agree about the mid-range tower.
2. A couple of things about iWeb (some perhaps fixable/possible?). a) Why can't apple make it possible to blog through the internet instead of having to be on one computer at home when blogging?o b) Why are iWeb pages so damn big? Not everyone has access to high speed internet and people stop going to sites that take forever to load.
3. Is it just me or does everything get slower with time?

That's about it I think....

[Maflynn]

1. Mid range tower
2. Update to the mini
3. Matte displays as an option on the laptops and monitors.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Um, what do you guys mean by a landscape keyboard? A full sized one with the number pad?

When you rotate the iPod/iPhone to "landscape" view, you get a larger, wider keyboard, but this option isn't available in Mail or a few other apps.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

I also have the complaint about restarts via Software Update.

I'm usually working on school notes, so I have 4-5 documents open in Word and Pages (class notes, previous notes, alternate versions, etc. etc.) as well as multiple Firefox web pages open to random sites that I've found which give me insight into a case. And this is usually going on for each class I'm in. I usually find it a real pain to have to save all this stuff in one place so I can remember exactly what documents I had open, or bookmark all these web pages that I'll probably never use again but just MIGHT need and will never remember how to find if I do.....

That, and the lack of matte screens. I can't imagine working on a glossy screen, especially in a sun-filled condo with big windows. It would just drive me nuts.

greg

Their removal of FW from the new MacBook. I can only afford the bottom of the line and have alot of money invested in FW audio interfaces and storage. All of my existing software is dual-platform - so, begrudgingly, I'll be buying a Windows laptop next and get comfy in that environment because as I see it, unless I have over $2000 for a new laptop a Mac will no longer be in my future.

The glossy freakin' screens. I sucked it up on my first rev MacBook because I needed a machine. 90% of the time it's fine but there are those instances where the environment I'm in causes too much screen glare.

[alligator]

Making me reboot for just about ever software update in the last six months. What gives?

[Buckaroo]

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton 

I also have the complaint about restarts via Software Update.

I'm usually working on school notes, so I have 4-5 documents open in Word and Pages (class notes, previous notes, alternate versions, etc. etc.) as well as multiple Firefox web pages open to random sites that I've found which give me insight into a case. And this is usually going on for each class I'm in. I usually find it a real pain to have to save all this stuff in one place so I can remember exactly what documents I had open, or bookmark all these web pages that I'll probably never use again but just MIGHT need and will never remember how to find if I do.....

That, and the lack of matte screens. I can't imagine working on a glossy screen, especially in a sun-filled condo with big windows. It would just drive me nuts.

greg

Hi,
May I suggest that you put all the files related to a project into a folder labeled based on that project and you can drag the URL (the little icon within the URL) to the folder to save that web page. You won't have to bookmark it.

[Buckaroo]

Originally Posted by screamingFit 

Their removal of FW from the new MacBook. I can only afford the bottom of the line and have alot of money invested in FW audio interfaces and storage. All of my existing software is dual-platform - so, begrudgingly, I'll be buying a Windows laptop next and get comfy in that environment because as I see it, unless I have over $2000 for a new laptop a Mac will no longer be in my future.

The glossy freakin' screens. I sucked it up on my first rev MacBook because I needed a machine. 90% of the time it's fine but there are those instances where the environment I'm in causes too much screen glare.

There was not enough room on the side of the MacBook for the firewire port. The ports come right up to the battery/HD compartment. But you are right it kinda sucks not having a fw port.

Try for an educational discount on the MBP.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Originally Posted by Buckaroo 

Hi,
May I suggest that you put all the files related to a project into a folder labeled based on that project and you can drag the URL (the little icon within the URL) to the folder to save that web page. You won't have to bookmark it.

Yeah in theory I could do that, but I've got one of these "project folders" for every class day this semester (i.e. 25 or whatever)… and some of the documents are for every file, some are only for specific days, etc. etc. It's a bit of a mess, I'll admit, but that's what happens when you mix-and-match notes from various other students.

Out of mild curiosity, now that you've made me think about it, is there a way to save a bunch of tabbed websites to a folder? I know you can do this in Firefox (e.g. create a new bookmark folder of all your current tabs) but I'm curious if it can be saved into a folder as you describe.

Thanks for the tips,

greg

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

When you rotate the iPod/iPhone to "landscape" view, you get a larger, wider keyboard, but this option isn't available in Mail or a few other apps.

Ah yes, know what you mean now. Cheers.

[OAW]

It's been over two years since the Album Artist tag was introduced in iTunes. Yet we still can't ...

1. Browse by Album Artist in iTunes.
2. Browse by Album Artist on the iPod/iPhone.

So one still has to do "Track Name feat. Guest Artist" in the Track Name tag, which effectively renders the Album Artist tag useless.

OAW

[voodoo]

Goddam glossy screens hack me off the most about Apple products! Grr

[11011001]

I want to see them drop DRM, everywhere. the new MBs

I'd also love to see them open up the iPhone to developers (give us bluetooth access, let us rewrite mail, give us free reign!).

[seanc]

Cheap components - use of nasty TN panels - I'm not paying Acer money.
Poor testing/design leading to widespread failure - 99% of the iBook line, MagSafe power adaptors, PowerBook RAM slots, MacBook charging, eMac video, MacBook palm rests.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by 11011001 

I want to see them drop DRM, everywhere.

You don't think Apple is using all the leverage they can to get content providers to drop DRM? It's not like Apple's benefiting from DRM in any way.

[shifuimam]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

You don't think Apple is using all the leverage they can to get content providers to drop DRM? It's not like Apple's benefiting from DRM in any way.

Actually, they are, when you think about it.

The iPod/iTunes/FairPlay monopoly ensures Apple's continued profit from both iPod sales and ITMS sales. If you spend $600 on iTunes songs over the course of several years, you're pretty much guaranteed to replace your iPod with another iPod, unless you want to illegally strip the DRM from the files you've downloaded (which many people don't know how to do).

Similarly, by owning an iPod, if you want to legally acquire tracks without ripping the CDs you already own, you're far more likely to buy through iTunes than a service like Amazon, since iTunes will drop your newly-purchased tracks right into your library and your iPod without your intervention.

If Apple had originally released the iPod with, say, PlaysForSure DRM, the iPod universe wouldn't have expanded nearly as quickly as it did. The current model ensures vendor lock-in.

[- - e r i k - -]

You are pretty much guaranteed to replace your iPod with another iPod purely on the fact that there is no serious competition…

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

You are pretty much guaranteed to replace your iPod with another iPod purely on the fact that there is no serious competition…

For now, yes, but it is foolish to take this for granted... Shif is right.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by shifuimam 

If Apple had originally released the iPod with, say, PlaysForSure DRM, the iPod universe wouldn't have expanded nearly as quickly as it did.

Sure, that's why PlaysForSure was such a HUGE market success, taking market share from Apple left and right.

SuxxForSure is in many ways even worse and more restrictive than Apple's DRM.

I'm also getting tired of people blaming Apple. MI, anyone ?

-t